← Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Dufresne Ministries Podcast
Give Time To Prayer, Part Six | Nancy Dufresne | Jesus the Healer Broadcast
00:27:04
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:01]
A
Hi, I'm Nancy Dufresne. Welcome to our podcast channel. We know you'll be blessed by today's message.
- [00:09]
B
Well, I want you to see something we've been talking about, of course, making time in our lives so that we can progress spiritually, so that we can go further with the things of God. God has so much for us, and he offers us so much. But it's going to take time to become skillful in what he has made ours. As we said, the Word tells us, work out your own salvation. It takes time for us to learn how to work the salvation that belongs to us. It takes time for us to become skillful with the benefits and privileges. You know, healing belongs to us, but it takes time for us to learn how to become skillful with healing power. Prosperity belongs to us, but it takes time for us to become skillful in prosperity. Truths. Wisdom belongs to us, but it takes time for us to renew our minds with the word of God so that we can walk in the wisdom of God, so that we can have minds that think like he thinks. One of the things that we've been talking about is that one of the primary ways or things that the devil uses to rob us of our time is to bring distractions into our lives. We have to learn to recognize what is distracting me, what's keeping me from moving forward spiritually, because I must give time to my prayer life, time to the Word, so that I can move forward spiritually. What is it that is distracting me because I want to change that. I want to cut that out of my life. If you would go with me to Acts, chapter 15. And we're going to start reading in verse 36, Acts, chapter 15, verse 36. And we'll read through verse 40. And it reads this. And some days after, Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they're doing. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought it not good to take him with them because he had departed from them previously and went not with them on the work. And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed, and Paul chose Silas and departed. So the setting is. Is that Paul is saying, we need to go back to all the places that we've ministered to, to the different congregations, and we need to encourage them. We need to see how they're doing. We need to check up on the fruit of our. Of our vineyard. And so Barnabas, and I want you to see the word here because some people would think that Paul was the one that was wrong. But we see what where the contention and the problem arose. In verse 37 it says, and Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. So what was the problem? When Barnabas got determined that something was going to be done his way, that became a stumbling block. That became a distraction to keep him from going further. Now you have to know this. God is the one that put Paul and Barnabas together by divine assignment. The Spirit of God spoke. And in Acts chapter 13 and he said, separate unto me, Paul and Barnabas for the work whereunto I have called them. So God called Paul and Barnabas together and they served together, they ministered together, they were a mighty team together. But notice what happened along the way. Barnabas got determined that something was gonna go his way and he put his determination in front of what God said. God said that they were to go together and Barnabas was trying to insert Mark and people it stated that Mark was a relative of Barnabas. So we see this, that Barnabas sailed off the pages of history that day because he was distracted by his determination. Now we know this. Barnabas wouldn't have backslidden and gone into the world and gone into a life of sin. He probably went on in ministry. But the Holy Ghost didn't record any more ministry that he accomplished because he did not stay with what God instructed him to do. He got distracted by his own determination. He determined something else was going to be his way. You know how many times people in a marriage, God puts a marriage together and somebody in that marriage determines that they're going to get their way and they end up destroying that marriage. Well, that's a distraction from God's best. That is something that keeps people from going as far as God wants them to go because they determine something's going to be their way. And look at this. Barnabas was a spiritual man. I tell you, we have to watch ourselves. No matter how far we grow spiritually, we have to keep the flesh under. We have to keep personal preferences under. We have to put first and hold first. What did God instruct us to do and stay faithful to what God told us to do so that we don't veer from that. As I said, we never hear from Barnabas again. Although he probably went on to do more ministry, it was never recorded about him again. As I said, there were two reasons that Paul did Not want to take Mark with them. Number one, he recognized Mark is not prepared to face the kind of persecution we face. So if I could say it this way, he was trying to protect Mark. He wasn't trying to keep Barnabas from winning his way. He was trying to protect Mark. Because Mark had been on that previous journey and fled when persecution arose. He knew that spiritually he was not ready to face what Paul and Barnabas faced on a regular basis. So he was protecting him. I remember when I married my husband back in 1984. We had only been married two weeks and we were down in Florida holding meetings. And one night we were in the hotel room. We'd gone to sleep that night. And I was awakened five times that night with a dream. And in all five of those dreams, Satan appeared to me and made threats against me. And I won't go into all of that, but I thought, something's the matter with me. I mean, as a Methodist girl, I never had Satan to appear to me. But within two weeks after marrying this man, I've had Satan appear to me five times in one night. And I remember, because, you see, you have to understand, I didn't even know what the fivefold ministry was. I never even heard of the five fold ministry. I was young in spiritual things. I was not developed. I did not know even a fraction of what my husband had experienced in the ministry. I was spiritually immature. And that night, Satan appeared to me. The fifth time he appeared to me and I could see him at a distance. All of a sudden, there's a face of my brother that appeared nose to nose with me and said, intercession has been made. It's broken. Notice this. Jesus ever liveth to make intercession. Because I was a spiritual baby, because my mind was not renewed with the Word. I didn't know how to take authority over that thing. When Satan appeared to me, I should have spoken to that in the name of Jesus and told him to stop and desist in his maneuvers against me. But being a spiritual baby, I didn't know my authority. I didn't know to speak to it. So Jesus, whoever liveth to make intercession, he interceded for me. He stepped in and dealt with that situation for me. What was he doing? He was protecting me because he knew I was in. If I could say this, I was out beyond my own knowledge. I was in a setting that was beyond my ability to succeed on my own. Notice this I told my husband. Well, afterwards, you know, when my husband and I were talking about it, I told him what happened, and he said, well, honey, he said, that happened to you because I stand in the prophet's office and you married a prophet, and so you're going to get attacked. So I, of course, I didn't understand even at that time quite what that meant to say he stood in the prophet's office. But I will say this. When I joined to my husband, I got tested at his level. I wasn't getting tested at my level anymore. I was getting tested at the level of the one I joined with. Paul recognized this. If Barnabas causes Mark to be joined to us, Mark is going to get tested at Paul and Barnabas level. He's not going to get tested at his own level anymore. And he might not be able to withstand that degree of a test. So really, Paul was trying to protect Mark because Paul, evidently Mark needed to do more growing and developing, even though he was probably a minister and a preacher. You know, as a pastor, it's important not to put novices or spiritually young people in positions of leadership that they aren't ready for because they're going to get attacked by the enemy when they move into positions of authority. And they need to have some spiritual growth and development and some. Some renewing of the mind and some spiritual skill to withstand those attacks and overcome them. You know, just because someone can sing well doesn't mean they're ready to be on the front platform. Just because someone can administrate doesn't mean they're ready to take the lead in your ministry. They must be given time to grow. They must be given time to develop spiritually so they don't get tripped up and taken off course. I mean, there are people that are on my staff right now that 20 years ago, I knew that they would occupy a leadership position, but I knew that it wasn't time for them to be put in that position until they had time to grow and develop just like everyone else. Why? Because I'm more interested in their success than I am in getting my position filled. This is what Paul was. This is his mindset toward Mark. He was more interested in Mark not getting taken off course or Mark not being overcome than just having another traveling companion with them. To put someone in a position they aren't ready for is to put them at risk and contribute to their downfall. Paul was protecting Mark. And being a relative to Barnabas didn't mean that Mark was going to get to spiritually bypass the proper steps to grow and to develop and to mature. He still needed to develop and grow and mature. You know, I married my husband, he was almost 20 years in the ministry, a precious man of God. I mean, he was a bold man of God. He had a developed faith, he had a developed walk with God. But just because my husband was developed didn't mean I was developed. I still had to take the time to develop and I'm still taking the time to develop. And just because someone is a religion relative of a minister doesn't mean that they get to bypass the development process. You know, success isn't automatic. No matter who you're related to. You're not going to succeed just because you're related to someone or have an acquaintance or you're friends with someone who's a leader in a church or in a ministry. That doesn't ensure your success. There were ministers who were around Paul that failed. I mean, there were different ones that Paul listed in his letters that walked away from him and left him because they loved the world and they left him to go back into the world. And so just being around ministers and people that are successful in ministry doesn't ensure our success. We have to spiritually grow and develop. You know, my family serves with me in the ministry, but they have to go through the exact same steps of spiritual growth and faithfulness like everyone else. I put a demand on them that they have to that if I'm to contribute to their success. I put a demand on them that they grow up spiritually and that they develop spiritually. If I just treat them like they don't have to develop their prayer life, they don't have to develop their faith life, they don't have to develop, you know, their life in the Word. They don't have to renew their mind. I'm contributing to their downfall and I'm not going to do to my family. This is what Jesus when he was dealing with this rich young ruler, he wasn't gonna contribute to that young man's downfall by saying, yeah, you can follow me, even though you love possessions more than me. Jesus knew that that would be a downfall for him and he wasn't gonna contribute to that man's downfall. And you know, my husband being the man of God, he was my kids, my sons, my daughter in law, my grandchildren won't succeed just being because their dad was so spiritual. He was a precious spiritual man of God. But they have to be doers of the Word for themselves. And this is what we have to understand. It takes time to develop as doers of the Word. Now the second reason of course, Paul was protecting Mark that was the first reason that he wasn't going to take them, take Mark with them. And really, it played out, didn't it? Because the next place that Paul and Silas go, they're beaten and thrown in prison. Now, that's what would have happened to Mark. And so Paul was protecting Mark from that setting. And really, we can tell that Paul didn't have anything against Mark specifically because later in his travels, he called for Mark to come and accompany him. So we see he didn't have anything against Mark. He just knew that Mark wasn't ready for what they would be facing. The second reason that Paul would not allow Mark to be taken on the journey with him and Barnabas was that Mark would become a distraction. Because they were making this trip to encourage and strengthen believers. So they needed some. They needed to take someone with them that was strong enough to strengthen others. They didn't need to take someone that they had to strengthen. And so Mark would have been a distraction. Although he was a preacher, he was not ready for the persecution they would face. And they would be having to, so to speak, hold him up. Mark was. Paul was right in not taking Mark. Because I tell you, when they were sitting in that prison, we don't know if Mark would have known to pray and sing praises after he had been beaten and thrown in prison. This is what. What Paul and Silas did. They were thrown in prison. They were beaten. And the word didn't say. They complained. The word didn't say. They said, that's it, I'm quitting the ministry. This is too hard. No, the word says they prayed and sang praises. When you're in a setting like that, you need a companion who knows how to praise. You don't want a companion that would get frightened and run from that scene. Not everyone has the faith or knows how to praise after they've been beaten and thrown in prison. Prison. And so this was what Paul was protecting Mark from. What am I saying all that for is to say this is. We have to keep from our lives those people who would be distractions from our spiritual progress. We love everybody. But you cannot have close fellowship and let someone speak into your life if they are going to be a distraction from. You know, there are some people who. They love the flow of the world. They're going to keep one foot, you know, supposedly in the church and one foot in the world. That'll be a hindrance to you. You need to find different fellowship because that will slow you down and become a distraction to you now because the devil will use Distractions to slow us down and to hinder us in our prayer life, in our spiritual development. How do we keep from being distracted? Well, one way is we need to simplify our lives. How do we simplify our lives? Well, dad Hagin used to always say so many times we heard him in services, especially when there were a lot of ministers present, he would always say this, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. What was he saying? He's saying you are too busy with natural things and because of that it's affecting your, it's having an effect on your ministry and how far reaching your ministry can be. Many times we're too busy to study, too busy to pray, too busy even with the work of the ministry. I remember something that I heard years ago. A precious man of God, Billy Graham, when he was celebrating his 80th birthday, he was on a talk show and the talk show host said something to Billy Graham. He said, you know, there are a lot of men who get toward the end of their life and regret the way they lived. They have wasted their life, they've wasted so much time. And he said, you must be so pleased at the closing years of your life, how you've lived your life. And I'll never forget it. Because Billy Graham as an 80 year old man made a statement. He said, I am the greatest failure of all men. He said, because I was in too many meetings, I was with too many people when I should have been more with God. If I would have been more with God, people would have sensed more of God about me when they were with me. So here it was, an 80 year old man looking back and saying I did too many meetings. I was doing too much of the work of the ministry. This is what dad Hagin would warn us about. Busy, busy, busy. Yes, there's a work of the ministry. Yes, it's a joy. Yes, it's a privilege. But the work of the ministry is no substitute for time with God. It's no substitute for time in prayer. It's no substitute for time in the Word. Remember what it says in Acts chapter 6. The apostles said, we will not leave prayer in the ministry of the Word to serve tables. They weren't saying that they were too good to serve tables. They were saying that we can't do all the natural business of the ministry and also fulfill our place in prayer and the Word. So this is what dad Hagin would warn us about so often when he was say busy, busy, busy. We must remember to never let the work of the ministry distract us from time with The Lord of the ministry. Because this is where we get off course as we start putting the work first instead of putting the Lord of the work first. Now, In Psalms, chapter 46, in verse 10, it says this. Be still and know that I am God. Look at the words, be still and know that I am God. If we're to know him as we ought, we must be still enough to spend time with Him. We can be so busy running around trying to do that. We are doing it apart from Him. We're leaving him out of it. We're trying to do it ourselves. What only he can really accomplish through us. Yes, he works through us. But our doing will only be effective after we have been still enough to spend time with Him. So it says, be still and know that I am God. Let me put it to you this way. There are some things that can only be learned in the stillness. The stillness of feeding on the Word, the stillness of prayer, the stillness of praying in the Spirit, the stillness of getting away from distractions. There are some things that you'll only hear in the stillness. And the Word talks about how when God speaks, it's as a still, small voice. Some people live their lives so loudly that they can't hear that stillness. They can't hear his voice in the still stillness. Some people live their lives at such a pace that they are running past his voice. They don't hear it anymore because they're not still enough to hear. So the Word warns us and encourages us and instructs us, be still and know that I am God. It's a bad habit of the flesh to always be running. Everything has to be at turbo speed. Everything is so highly accelerated. Accelerated, because that ends up costing us much. And this is what God began dealing with me about some time ago, is about time. How important it is that we give God the time to be still so that we can know Him. You know, Jesus said, I only say what I hear my Father say. Now, you think of all the multitudes pulling on Jesus. You think of all the multitudes wanting his attention. But notice this. He still took time to hear what God had to say. Even though he was a son of God, he still needed to take time to hear. What do I say to the people? Because Jesus said, I only say what I hear my Father say. He said, only do what I see my Father do. Jesus had those times of stillness so that he could hear and so that he could see. And in that, that's where he knew. That's how he knew what miracles were to happen. Throughout that day, who was he to minister to, what city was he to travel to, what approach was he to take? He heard that in the stillness. And there are some things you'll never learn about your life, you'll never learn about your ministry until you get still enough to know it, still enough to hear what God would say to you about it. I want to close with this. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1, the Amplified says, In verse 1 and 2, of course, this passage is preceded by talking about all these wonderful great heroes of faith. And he says this in Hebrews 12:1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance, unnecessary weight, and that sin which so readily and cleverly clings to and entangles us. And let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before Looking away from all that will distract to Jesus. Now listen to the wording of what the Amplified says. Looking away from all that will distract. There is so much that will distract. Distractions come in so many forms and in so many places and so many times of our day that we need to learn. Wait a minute. This is distraction to hold me out. You know, I know this. I'm so grateful for the times we got to be in dad Hagin's meetings. We were so grateful to have had the privilege to be there. But we spent time. We spent money to travel there, to stay there in hotels, for the meals. It cost us something, but it was worth something to us. So many people many times miss being where they should be because they're distracted by the cost of how much would it cost us to go to that conference? And so they don't come. You know, there were many that could have come but didn't because they were saving money. Saving money is a distraction from the plan of God. When that money is there to help you fulfill the plan of God, help you gain more what you need to fulfill the plan of God. It's not to be used as a distraction. It's not to be used that you're serving it. And so we're to lay aside. We have to lay these things aside. We have to take charge of our flesh. And I tell you, this last Day era, we're going to see full measure of the fivefold offices, full measure, full potential power of the nine manifestations of the Spirit. But we're going to have to be so skillful with that degree of power, that degree of skill will only come as we take time to be in the presence of God. I'm so grateful for these times, the last several days that we've gotten to spend with you and just talk about these things and minister about these things. And I want to pray with you before we close tonight. Father, I'm so grateful for the greatness of your plan. And every plan that you form is great. You've never. You've never planned anything but greatness. And so we're so thankful that we have been a part of these meetings to get to hear these things. And Father, we purpose to be doers of that which we hear. We purpose to make changes that are needed. We purpose to lay aside. It's not God removing them from us, it's us choosing to lay them aside. And God will help us do that. But it's our choice. So we choose that. You are not only our Savior, Jesus, you are our Lord. We put you first. Time with you. Time to hear. Time to be with you. And everybody said Amen.
- [26:46]
A
We trust you've enjoyed this message. Visit us at defreshministries.org to learn of our upcoming meetings, share your testimony, become a partner or visit our online store. This program has been made possible by the friends and partners of Dufresne Ministries.